Chapter 45: 44

44.

Some time had passed. As he hoped, the cries from the other side had gradually subsided. The strong sobs faded and soon disappeared.

Did she fall asleep? She’ll get sick if she keeps on crying so much with that scrawny body of hers. I’d rather she falls asleep out of exhaustion. The surroundings fell calm as soon as the sounds disappeared. I guess she’s really asleep.

Vicente turned back soon after. While on his way, he suddenly stopped walking, feeling a presence. When he identified the other, Vicente briefly bowed his head,

“She fell asleep.”

Harsen gave no answer, his empty eyes glued elsewhere. Finally, the heartless man moved his lips,

“Her foot.”

He said only two words, but it was clear what he meant.

“…When she heard the news, she hurried into the carriage and ended up injuring herself.” Only then did his eyes shift to Vicente. “Call the physician.”

“I’ll inform Clifton.”

“Okay.”

Harsen’s eyes were still sunken. Vicente was not used to such a look on his father. He felt that the stubborn wall surrounding him had been torn down a little.

Vicente knew it was because of his mother. Harsen, who was relentless to others, showed a milder attitude toward Ercella, although she would never know.

In a way, it was natural for her to not know. It was a subtle change that only someone who knew how Harsen usually was would notice. As he got to know Ercella, Vicente felt there was much she didn’t know about.

It’s a wonder how she lived here so peacefully on her own, without a care about the world, as if there was an invisible barrier around her.

Does mother even know that Bernhardt’s noble neutrality has long been broken, and how many political opponents Father has had to deal with? In this invisible fight, he had been covered in blood, lost his men, and had ended up becoming the sole target of the wrath of the many people who had fallen by his hands.

Damonshire, Robert, Garian, Ludus, Chestian.

From the elites that were difficult to defeat, to the small nobles who supported them. Yet, the honor was never his.

Everything went back to Visaride. I couldn’t understand Father’s motives for all this when I first found out. I wondered if Visaride had something on him.

But now I know that’s not the case. Vicente was amazed that a man devoid of humanity possessed such feelings. I couldn’t believe he was being swayed by a woman who lacked the power to do any of this herself. How strange.

There’s no way people would’ve already forgotten how he oppressed them with his strength. It may not seem like an issue to him, but judging from the results, you could tell that it was overkill. Perhaps the alliance with Garten had something to do with that. Vicente addressed the man still staring at him,

“Do you need the Gartens?”

Vicente didn’t care who he married. He lived just like how most nobles lived. I never wanted happiness in the first place. Which was why he complied. Harsen looked at Vicente with strange eyes. His reply was a little late.

“…I wonder.”

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Vicente was a little puzzled by that, but he didn’t ask anymore. He knew that his father wouldn’t answer his question anyway.

“It doesn’t affect me.” With those words, Vicente passed by Harsen.

For a while, the man’s gaze was fixed on the boy who looked like him. After staring at his son with a mysterious gaze, he then turned his eyes towards the sound of footsteps coming from far away.

“Oh…” She was Ercella’s beloved maid. When Harsen only stared at her, Lianne bowed her head, “I was afraid Madam might be comfortable sleeping without changing into her nightgown…”

“I’ll do it.”

Lianne’s eyes trembled, darting in all directions.

… But I’m the dresser servant.

She kept these words to herself. She knew that Ercella was asleep, so she had purposely chosen clothes that were easy to change into. It wasn’t a particularly difficult task, but it was not a worthy task for a nobleman. Lianne looked at the nightgown in her hands and pondered for a moment before handing it over to Harsen.

The man entered the bedroom with the nightdress in his hand. He spotted her curled up on the bed, as if she were asleep. The man sat on the bed when his eyes shifted to her swollen foot.

As he stared, he slowly stroked her foot. Judging from the degree of swelling, the pain was unlikely to stop until tomorrow. Her body didn’t move in the slightest, as she was deep in sleep. Even her breathing was inaudible, as if she was dead.

As he looked at the tired woman’s face, he saw her eyes twitching, as if disturbed by something. Her neck looked uncomfortable, and when he took off the scarf she was wearing, he saw the sweat drops that had accumulated there.

Seems like she was wearing this all day. She went through quite the trouble. She’s always been sensitive to both heat and cold. The man who was removing the sweat suddenly came to a halt.

He realized why she was wearing a scarf in this heat. Harsen slowly rubbed on the red patches. His hand remained there for a while, then he sighed deeply and began to undress her.

* * *

The morning sun shone down on her. Ercella contorted her face and opened her eyes.

What time is it? She thought as soon as she opened her eyes. Judging by the intensity of the sunlight, it was well past morning. Ercella then realized that she had been asleep for quite a long time.

As she woke up, yesterday’s events slowly flowed in. First, she remembered Harsen, then Vicente. Remembering the part where she ran away, Ercella tightly shut her eyes. However, the faint afterimage gradually became more distinct. Finding it in vain, Ercella opened her eyes again.

She had slept so well that she couldn’t fall asleep again. Ercella slowly rose to her feet. Surprisingly, her body felt rejuvenated. Only then did she notice that her dress had changed. Her uncomfortable dress had been changed into a nightgown.

Was it Lianne? She thought for a moment, but her eyes shifted toward the noise coming from the nearby door. She heard a knock.

“Madam, are you awake?” It was Lianne’s voice.

“… Yes.”

When Ercella replied, Lianne carefully opened the door and stopped.

“I heard you sprained your foot, so I brought the physician…” Lianne paused when she saw that Ercella’s expression was dyed with embarrassment. Roughly aware of her situation, Lianne stopped the physician who was about to follow in, “It seems Madam hasn’t woken up yet, so could you come back a bit later?”

The physician quietly nodded and went back. He must have known that it was terribly disrespectful to see a lady who had not yet dressed up. As soon as she saw that the physician had turned his back, Lianne closed the door and approached Ercella. Seeing Lianne’s expression, Ercella smiled briefly,

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“I guess it’s swollen quite a bit.”

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“…Yes, a little.”

“Of course it has, since I cried so much. Now I’m embarrassed to face people.”

Surely her appearance now would stop any passer-by on their feet. She thought to at least erase the now dry tear marks, so Lianne brought water to wash Ercella’s face.

Her eyes were still swollen, but she looked much better. Saying that she felt a bit refreshed, Ercella smiled a bit longer than before.

“Did you change my clothes? Thank you, as always.”

Lianne wondered how to respond to Ercella’s question. She hesitated for a minute, then lowered her gaze and said in a small voice,

“… The Lord.”

“Huh?”

“It was the Lord who did that.”

Ercella’s expression stiffened at Lianne’s words.

“… I see.”

Harsen… murmured Ercella blankly. Maybe he stopped by after she fell asleep. But we have a dresser servant. It’s too low a job for him to do. Even though she was embarrassed, when she thought of Harsen, her heart ached, as if squeezed by a stone. Ercella said with a faint breath, “… You must do it for me next time. It’s inappropriate for an important person to do something like that.”

“I understand.”

Lianne knew that if Harsen demanded it again, she would have no choice but to comply, but she replied obediently for now.

“When should I call the physician?”

“Tell him that I don’t need treatment.”

“What? But…”

Ercella shook her head. She wanted to be alone without seeing anyone. Perhaps she read her expression, so Lianne remained quiet.

Ercella was about to order Lianne but stopped. She had a sudden rush of thought. She realized that this was the only place she could be alone.

This small space, separated from the outside by a thin door, was where she could be completely alone. Wherever she went, there was always someone accompanying her. She was used to it, but for some reason, it felt suffocating now.

Suddenly, she had an urge to go out. Alone, without anyone keeping a watch on her. Ercella rose to her feet.

* * *

Wendelman Contar stared at the lady in front of him. He found it unbelievable that this woman who was usually bright, ran crying out of Harsen’s office yesterday.

Nevertheless, her face was still bewitchingly beautiful, so Wendelman laughed inwardly. A woman who could do nothing on her own except being pretty. She didn’t suit his master at all.

She was always an eyesore to not just Wendelman but also the other vassals. He responded sternly to her request from a little while ago,

“No, you can’t.”

Her eyes trembled slightly. She looked sideways and spoke quietly,

“…Baron.”

Her clear lake-colored eyes were desperate, but without a moment’s hesitation, he once again refused.

“If you want to go out, you must be accompanied by an attendant.”

She visited me late in the morning, asking to go out without an attendant. He found it absolutely ridiculous. Should a danger befall on her, the vassals would have to take responsibility for it.

“I just want to get some fresh air. Noble ladies and their daughters go around alone because the capital has good security. Everything will be fine.”

“The other day, I informed you through a maid that a trafficking ring had been caught in the capital.”

Most of the bad news was filtered before they reached her. However, he went out of his way to inform her of this news in particular, in hopes that she would stay obediently in the mansion. From the vassals’ point of view, Ercella was quite the troublesome person.

Wendelman didn’t care what she did or what kind of danger she faced, but he still had to keep an eye on her. Ercella’s exposure to danger was akin to a disaster for them.

No one would dare to go after a woman like the duchess, but Wendelman did not want to take any risks. Can’t she just stay put? He truly wished that she would remain still.

“Baron Contar. How come I can’t…even for just a little while?”

“I’m sorry, but no. There’s no guarantee that nothing will happen in the meantime…”

Bang-!

The door was slammed open and Baroness Contar entered. Wendelman sighed deeply at the sight of his wife. Unlike how she entered, the baroness bowed her back politely, “Greetings to the Duchess. It has been quite a while.”

“…Nice to meet you, Baroness,” Ercella smiled awkwardly. Baroness Contar aided in the household affairs at the mansion. Well, it was more like she was in charge of it.

In the past too, she had performed the duties of the Duchess, so all Ercella did was approve the documents the baroness brought. Feeling small in front of the baroness, Ercella blushed with embarrassment. The baroness smiled kindly and said to her,

“May I borrow this man for a moment? I’ll bring him back to you soon.”

“Dear.”

“Get up.”

She dragged Wendelman away as if she had no intention of getting permission in the first place. What’s going on? Ercella tilted her head.

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